Esperanza Middle continues mold remediation

Esperanza Middle School will begin in-person instruction on Wednesday, Aug. 28, a week after other public schools in St. Mary's County, although some students will be in another building for the time being due to mold inside the school.

The public school system contracted with ServPro last week to complete a mold mitigation process after the mold was discovered in the school earlier in the week.

"ServPro has been on site, has developed a plan and has begun their work," according to a release from the St. Mary's public school system. Additional air quality testing from ESI Environmental Solutions is being conducted and Esperanza Middle School will remain virtual through Tuesday, Aug. 27.

The classrooms requiring mold mitigation are in the lower level of the building, according to the release.

"ServoPro created a negative air pressure barrier using plastic polyethylene sheeting to seal off the affected areas, preventing the contamination of other areas. As a result, that part of the building will not be accessible and the school will not have the classroom space to bring all students back into the building," the release said.

Students in grades 6 and 7 will return to the building on Wednesday, after a final comprehensive air quality assessment of the entire building.

The school system has partnered with the University System of Maryland Southern Maryland in California, which has available instructional space to accommodate Esperanza eighth grade students while their classrooms are being remediated.

“We are grateful that USMSM is accommodating our students," Jennifer Consalvo, Esperanza principal, said in the release. "They have been an excellent partner, providing state-of-the-art instructional spaces for our students and staff so that we can resume in-person learning.”

Esperanza eighth grade students will be attending school on the USMSM campus beginning Wednesday. Instruction will be delivered in their core content classes (English, math, science, social studies, Spanish, and literary lab) at USMSM by their current Esperanza teachers. They will return to EMS at mid-day, where they will have lunch and attend their special areas classes.

Esperanza teachers, along with support staff such as an assistant principal, guidance counselor, nurse and secretary, will be on site each day at USMSM.

The release did not say when the eighth graders could return to Esperanza Middle School.